Pope Francis’ Funeral Set for Saturday Morning in St. Peter’s Square

The funeral for Pope Francis will be held on Saturday morning at 10 a.m. local time (4 a.m. ET) in St. Peter’s Square, CNN reported on Tuesday, citing an announcement by the Vatican.

The open-air funeral ceremony will take place in the piazza outside the Vatican’s main basilica, a tradition upheld in previous papal funerals, which have seen thousands of mourners fill the square in remembrance and prayer, the report said.

According to the Vatican, the funeral Liturgy will be presided over by Cardinal Giovanni Battista, the Dean of the College of Cardinals.

Following the Eucharist, a final commendation and valediction will be held before Pope Francis’ coffin is carried into St. Peter’s Basilica for the remainder of the service, it said.

The burial will take place afterward at Rome’s Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, marking the final resting place of the 266th pope of the Roman Catholic Church.

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